Many people believe they need to find love. Finding that special someone supposedly completes them. However, before you find true love, you must first love yourself.

When you love yourself, it becomes easier to find a loving partner. No one can complete you other than yourself. Self-love lets you complete your being to attract the right people into your life.

If you do not love yourself, you risk falling into toxic relationships. These relationships hurt your ability to live a happy life.

Learning to love yourself will take you on an incredible journey. If you want to live a happy life and master finding love within yourself, follow these strategies.

Focus on What’s Going Right

Most people focus on their shortcomings. They focus on the path ahead instead of the path already traveled. 

When you focus on what’s going right, you celebrate your success and milestones. Remembering these successes brings back those memories.

You remember the feelings of success. You remember all of your hard work paying off in a big way. 

Even in challenging times, focus on your current actions. Celebrate the fact that you are working towards progress. If you focus too much on the negative, a tough time becomes more difficult.

Don’t Compare Yourself to Others

People often compare themselves to others. They measure their successes based on other people’s results. 

This thinking leads to toxic comparisons. Someone is always doing something better than you. They had more years of experience, better connections, or other advantages.

Your job is not to become better than others and fit into the mold. Your job is to become the best version of yourself. When you stop comparing yourself to others, you focus on getting better in a healthy way.

Instead of feeling remorse about a lack of progress, you look for ways to make progress. Learning to love yourself requires accepting flaws and acknowledging successes. 

Let Go of Other People’s Expectations

People want you to pursue their path. Some people want you to pursue a specific profession or be the same parent as them. If you live in someone else’s box, you fail to live your life.

Instead of asking yourself what others want, ask yourself what you want. Being happy requires living your life. Set expectations for yourself and ignore other people’s expectations.

If they remain adamant about you living on their terms, distance yourself from them. Happiness and self-love are precious. Anyone trying to take them away from you should play a minimal or non-existent role in your life.

Forgive Yourself for Previous Mistakes

We all make mistakes. It’s part of being human. Some mistakes drag us hard and steal our happiness.

The only way to recover from a mistake is to ask for forgiveness. You can plead your case to anyone you hurt with your words or actions. 

Most people stop there when asking for forgiveness. They continue holding onto the guilt. As the guilt magnifies, finding love becomes more challenging.

To love yourself, you must forgive yourself for those mistakes too. You can’t let the guilt dwell within your heart.

Take yourself back to those events or situations. You didn’t know what you know now. If you could go back, you wouldn’t do it again.

You became a better person through your mistakes. The past is in the past. How will you choose to live your life from this point onward?

Forgiving yourself allows you to find love within yourself again. Resources like the Awakened Grace course can help on the journey to self-love. It’s essential to love yourself now so you can show that love to others.

Stand Up for Yourself and Others

When was the last time someone said terrible things about you? Did you stand up for yourself or let them continue talking?

Standing up for yourself indicates you value yourself. Standing up does not mean becoming arrogant or bossy. It means stating your case and not letting people step over you.

Standing up for others provides a similar effect. You become courageous with your beliefs and thoughts. Not only do you help the people you stand up for, but you also help yourself.

It’s similar to giving versus receiving. Receiving a gift feels great. Giving someone a gift and seeing that person’s reaction evokes more happiness.

Stand for yourself when the time comes. If you see someone who needs help, stand up for that person as well. 

You don’t want to regret not speaking up for someone. If you hold those regrets, forgive yourself and speak up with the next opportunity arises.

Walk Away from the Wrong Crowd

The people you surround yourself with determine who you become. They can help you find self-love or make you feel contempt towards yourself. 

Loving yourself requires putting an end to destructive relationships and leaving toxic environments. Every person you meet is either a great example of a warning sign. 

When you walk away from bad people and crowds, you focus more on yourself and the right people. The right people lift you up and make you feel happy.

Daily Gratitude

Daily gratitude makes you reflect on what you have in your life. Gratitude provides a greater sense of happiness and helps with finding love.

Use a gratitude journal to jot down reasons you’re grateful. Doing this each day reinforces your gratitude. You can also refer to previous entries to recall your moments of gratitude.

Begin to Love Yourself

The journey to love yourself does not end in a single day. It takes time to forgive yourself and find happiness. However, you can get closer each day.

You will love yourself with enough practice. Self-love will help you find the right partner. 

You’ll feel complete before finding your partner. This status puts you in a stronger position than looking for someone to complete you.

If you want to love yourself sooner, continue reading the content on this blog. You’ll learn several insights that will help with your journey towards self-love.